Skate



G. S. CHILES July l1, 1939.

SKATE Filed Feb. l2, 1957 1NVENTOR. 650965 5T ff/ss www ATTORNEYSPatented `uly l1, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to roller skates and more particularly to a skatein which the weight of the skater is used as a propelling force.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a novel type ofskate that will embody a unique mode of operation whereby the skater, byapplying his weight to the skate and then lifting his foot, will bepropelled along at a fairly rapid speed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel form ofskate, of the type referred to, that may be used either singly or inpairs or used with an ordinary non-propelling type of skate.

Other objects of the invention and the features of novelty will beapparent from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, of which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a skateembodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig, 3 is an enlarged transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation of one of the wheels, with certainparts broken away to show a different type of free-wheeling device forapplying the propelling force to the Wheel; and

Fig. is a transverse section on the line 'I-l of Fig. E.

Referring to the drawing, ID indicates the footplate having the usualheel plate I I at the rear, to which a strap I2 is attached for thepurpose of securing the heel portion of the foot-plate to the shoe ofthe wearer. A t its forward end the footplate may be provided with theadjustable sole clamps I3 for securing the toe portion of the footplateto the shoe of the wearer, as is common practice in skates. The groundwheels are indicated at I4 and I5 and are preferably in axial alignmentand mounted on an axle I6, the central portion of the axle, between thewheels I4 and I5, being bent to form a crank I'l.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the wheels arerotatably mounted on a sleeve 53, which is secured to the end of theaxle I6 by a pin i9. Between the hub 2B of the wheel and the sleeve I?,there is a bearing which is preferably a ball bearing, as shown at 2l.The hub 20 has an inward extension 2E that is provided with ratchetteeth 23 on its interior. A pawl 24 is pivotally mounted on the sleeveI8, by means of a pin 25, and the tail 26, of the pawl 24, is engaged bya spring 23' to normally press the pawl into engagement with the ratchetteeth 23. The spring 21 is mounted on a pin 28 and has its end 29anchored to the sleeve I8 so as to be under tension and cause the pawlto engage the ratchet teeth, as previously stated. This method ofmounting the wheels permits them to rotate freely in one directionrelative to the axle I6 and when the crank I1 is sw ung downward fromthe position shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the pawl 24 will cause the wheelto turn with the axle. This movement of the crank I'I is effected by theska-ter bearing down on the footplate ID and, as will be obvious, thiswill cause the wheels to be rotated in the forward direction, and whenthe crank VI reaches its lowermost position the wheels will bepermitted. to coast along because of the free-wheeling action of thepawl and ratchet.

The crank Il is attached to the foot-plate IB by means of a bearingmember 30, which is secured to the underside of the foot-plate, and asmall collar 3 I, secured at the middle of the crank Il, holds thefoot-plate in position and against movement longitudinally of the crank.

The swinging movement of the crank II relative to the foot-plate islimited by a member 32 which is clamped to the crank, at the oppositesides of the foot-plate I, as will be seen from Fig. 1, the clampingbeing effected by the screws 33, it being understood, however, that themember 32 may be secured to the crank i'I in any other suitable manner.The member 32 has a part 34 which projects forwardly and is adapted toengage the underside of the foot-plate Hl as indicated in Fig. 2,thereby limiting the movement of the crank, relative to the foot-plate,in one direction. The member 32 also has a bent arm 35 which, when thecrank is at its lowermost position, is adapted to engage with theunderside of the footplate I 0 at a point rearwardly of the crank Il andthus limit the rotation in the other direction.

To assist in the operation of the skate, a spring 36 may be provided,this spring having one end anchored to the foot-plate as indicated at 3land being coiled around the crank Il, as indicated at 38, and having itsother end anchored in the member 32, as indicated at 39. When the crankI'I is swung from its position shown in Fig. 2, to its lowermostposition the spring B is wound up or tensioned, and when the skaterraises his foot, the spring will tend to return the parts to theposition shown in Fig. 2.

In operation the skater may use one of the skates just described on eachfoot or he may use one of these skates on one foot and an ordinarynon-propelling skate on the other foot. If the skater uses two of theskates described and illustrated he can propel himself along by puttinghis Weight on one foot and, at the same time, lifting the other foot andthen alternating these movements. In this way first one skate and thenthe other will act as the propelling means. If the skater uses but oneof these propelling skates he can use the ordinary non-propelling skateas a coaster and by alternately pushing down on the propelling skate andthen lifting his foot he will be propelled along.

In Figs 6 and 7 I have illustrated a frictional type of free-wheelingdevice which may be used in place of the pawl and ratchet devicepreviously described and for several reasons this frictional device isto be preferred. In this construction the axles 40 may be separateelements and secured to the crank 4I by screws 42, or in any othersuit'- able manner. The middle portion of each axle is preferably squareor of other non-circular form, as indicated at 43, and a plate 44 ismounted on this squared part of the axle so as to be rmly attachedthereto. Between the end portions of the axles 40 and the hub 45 of eachwheel there are ball bearings 46. The web 41 of the wheel has arelatively large central opening 48 which is concentric to the axle 40and acts as a track for rollers 49, which are carried by the outer endsof the plate 44. It will be noted that these ends of the plate 44 arecurved to form cams, as indicated at 58, and there are projections 5|which retain the rollers 49 in position. When the plate 44 is rotated inthe direction of the arrow, in Fig. 6, the rollers 49 will be forcedoutward by the cams 50 and wedged between the cam surfaces and the track48 so as to form a driving connection between the plate 44 and thewheel. Relative rotation of the plate 44 and the wheel, in the oppositedirection from the arrow, is permitted by the fact that the rollers 49will then assume substantially the position shown in Fig. 6. This is acommon form of overrunning clutch or free-wheeling device and while, perse, it is not my invention, it is well adapted for use in thecombination which I have devised as a means for forming an eiiicientdriving connection, which will operate quietly and without liability tobecome damaged in service.

` While I have illustrated and described what I now consider to besatisfactory designs for the application of my invention, it will beunderstood that various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit of the invention which isdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In a skate, the combination of a foot-plate, a pair of wheels, anaxle, said axle having a crank, means pivotally connecting sa'lfootplate directly to said crank whereby said axle and wheels areadapted to swing relative to said foot-plate in an are about saidccnnecting inea-ns, and means forming a driving connection be tween saidaxle and one of said wheels when the axle is rotated in the samedirection that said wheels rotate during forward movement of the skate.

2. In a skate, the combination of a foot-plate, a pair of wheels, anaxle, said axle having a crank, means pivotally connecting saidfootplate directly to said crank whereby said axle and wheels areadapted to swing relative to said foot-plate in an arc about saidconnecting means, and a free-wheeling device which forms a drivingconnection between said axle and one of said wheels when the axle isrotated in the same direction that said wheels rotate during forwardmovement of the skate.

3. In a skate, the combination of a foot-plate, a pair of axiallyaligned wheels, an axle on which said wheels are mounted, said axlehaving a crank between said wheels, means pivotally connecting saidfoot-plate directly to said crank whereby said axle and wheels areadapted to swing relative to said foot-plate in an arc about saidconnecting means, a free-wheeling device which forms a drivingconnection between said axle and one of said wheels when the axle isnecting said foot-plate directly to said crank,

whereby said axle and wheels are adapted to swing relative to saidfoot-plate in an arc about said connecting means, a free-wheeling devicewhich forms a driving connection between said axle and one of saidwheels when the axle is rotated in the same direction that said wheelsrotate during forward movement of the skate, and spring means to returnsaid crank to its driving position after a driving movement thereof.

5` In a skate, the combination of a foot-plate, a pair of axiallyaligned wheels, an axle on which said wheels are mounted, said axlehaving a crank between said wheels, means pivotally connecting saidfoot-plate directly to said crank,

whereby said axle and wheels are adapted to swing relative to saidfoot-plate in an arc about said connecting means, a free-wheeling devicewhich forms a driving connection between said axle and one of saidwheels when the axle is rotated in the same direction that said wheelsrotate during forward movement of the skate, means for limiting theextent of the relative r0- tating movement between said foot-plate andsaid crank, and spring means to return said crank to its drivingposition after a driving operation thereof.

6. In a skate, the combination of a foot-plate, a pair of wheels, anaxle on which said wheels are rotatably mounted, said axle having acrank between said wheels, means for journaling said foot-plate directlyto said crank, and friction means forming one-way driving connectionsbetween said axle and said wheels whereby the application of pressure tosaid foot-plate when said crank is in an elevated position will causeforward rotation of said wheels.

7. In a skate, the combination of a foot-plate, a pair of wheels, anaxle on which said wheels are rotatably mounted, said axle having acrank between said wheels, means pivotally connecting said foot-plateand directly to said crank whereby said axle and wheels are adapted toswing relative to said foot-plate in an arc about said connecting means,and ratchet means forming one-way driving connections between said axleand said wheels whereby the application of pressure to said foot-platewhen said crank is In an elevated position will cause forward rotationof said wheels.

GEORGE S. CHILES

